Alliances

The Perils of Misplaced Allegiances

In about 701 b.c., the Assyrian king Sennacherib sent forces to quell numerous uprisings among the kingdoms in the western empire. First they attacked the Phoenicians, deposing the king of Tyre. Then they moved south along the coast to the Philistine city-states of Ashkelon and Ekron, which had openly rebelled after the death of Sargon II (705 b.c.).

As Sennacherib's armies bore down on Jerusalem, King Hezekiah considered how he would defend his capital. He had made extensive preparations (2 Chr. 32:3–6, 30). But were they adequate to withstand the full force of Assyrian might?

One option open to Hezekiah was to appeal for help from the Egyptians. For years they had supplied Judah, Israel, the Philistines, and other neighbors to the north with military forces and arms. The Egyptians routinely used these smaller nations as a buffer between themselves and the Assyrians. Now that Jerusalem itself faced attack, Hezekiah was certain to get help if he wanted it.

But Isaiah's counsel was to reject such an alliance (Is. 30:1–5). To pursue it would show a lack of faith in the Lord to deliver His people. In fact, the Law prohibited the Israelites from allying themselves with the Egyptians or even importing armaments from them (Deut. 17:16).

Apparently Hezekiah heeded Isaiah's word. When Sennacherib's general taunted him and demanded a surrender, he asked the prophet to pray and ask God for help. Isaiah did so, and the Lord responded by delivering the city (2 Kin. 18:13–19:37; 2 Chr. 32:1–21).

This contrasted sharply with the actions of Hoshea, the last of Israel's kings. Faced with a situation similar to Hezekiah's, Hoshea had appealed for help from So, king of Egypt. Before long, the Assyrians had overrun Israel, destroyed its capital of Samaria, and deported its inhabitants (2 Kin. 17:1–18).